Representative Albums: "Dallas Blues Before 1950," "Complete Recorded Works 1948-1958," "Lookin' for That Woman"
Representative Songs: "Gonna Write You a Letter," "Guess I'll Walk Alone," "Same Old Stuff"
Biography
The brother of Texas bluesman Willard "Ramblin'" Thomas, Jesse "Babyface" Thomas never had the success of his more famous sibling. He moved to Dallas in 1929, when Blind Lemon Jefferson and Lonnie Johnson were in their heyday, and tried to establish himself but found little success in recording despite work for numerous labels right up through the 1940s. His early acoustic playing was heavily influenced by Lonnie Johnson and Blind Blake, but he later developed a style of his own. Unlike his older brother, Babyface Thomas was not a slide player. He also tended to write and sing about more upbeat and romantic subjects than Ramblin Thomas. He favored a highly rhythmic and animated style on his instrument -- he also lasted into the electric blues era, and he could make some brilliant amplified dance music -- "Double Do Love You" could recall T-Bone Walker at his best, and anticipates the work of Chuck Berry by several years. During the 1960s, after moving back to Shreveport, LA, he did some soul-styled recordings for his own label, which failed to find an audience. ~ Bruce Eder, All Music Guide
